MEDIA RELEASE- HAWAII AIR NATIONAL GUARD TO CONDUCT EXERCISE SENTRY ALOHA IN DECEMBER

HAWAII AIR NATIONAL GUARD TO CONDUCT EXERCISE SENTRY ALOHA IN DECEMBER

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii – The Hawaii Air National Guard (HIANG) will be hosting a Sentry Aloha, a large-scale fighter exercise beginning Wednesday, Dec. 5. Oahu residents, particularly along the island’s southern coast may see an increase in military aircraft during takeoffs and landings at Honolulu International Airport.

Sentry Aloha is an ongoing series of exercises hosted by the HIANG’s 154th Wing enabling tailored, cost effective and realistic combat training for Air National Guard, U.S. Air Force, and other Department of Defense services. It provides U.S. war fighters with the skill sets necessary to perform homeland defense and overseas combat missions.

Sentry Aloha exercises have been conducted by the HIANG for over twenty years. This iteration of the exercise will involve more than 800 personnel and 30 aircraft from nine states and twelve different military units and will run through Dec. 19.

Visiting units will include KC-135 Stratotanker air refueling support from the Iowa and Wisconsin Air National Guard, F-15 Eagles from the Oregon Air National Guard and U.S. Navy F-18 Hornets based in California. The visiting aircraft will take part in simulated combat exercises with the 199th and 19th Fighter Squadrons’ Hickam based “Hawaiian Raptors.”

The 199th Fighter Squadron is part of the 154th Wing, the largest wing in the Air National Guard. The Hawaii Air National Guard is comprised of nearly 2,500 Airmen whose federal mission is to be trained and available for active duty Air Force operational missions.